Our Christmas Card

End of the year wrap up

Wow, I have visions of printing this blog someday and it being a cherished record of great stories of our family's adventures. I think of it at least weekly, why I can't get more posts done, who knows. Maybe I'm making it too hard, I'm letting go that it has to be perfect and all inclusive. Just a few thoughts as the year ends...

We had an amazing Christmas. Matt's folks as well as Uncle Geoff and Aunt Shannon were here with us. We had a great time, also spending Christmas day with my family and the day after at Grandpa Walt's. Many memories were made. I love taking the kids to the dollar store, they pick out gifts for each other and for us with their own allowance money. It is precious how they spend time thinking what the other would love best. We had fun with the count down this year...Nathan had a really cool Lego advent calendar and of course our nativity calendar adds excitement too. I really think both kids totally understood Jesus' birthday being the reason for celebrating but Nathan continually asked how old he was turning, it led to some great conversations/teaching opportunities. Whitney loved the cartoon version of the Grinch, she couldn't get enough of it. Whitney was nothing shy of horrified when it came to Santa. Nathan told Santa what she wanted for her...a hair doll. Matt told her to get to bed Christmas eve because Santa was on his way and made ho ho ho noises while hiding behind Geoff. She blasted down the hallway, we thought she was running to bed but turns out she was scared to death that Santa might be there...sad but funny. Nathan wanted a GeoTrax train that was 'retired'. Thank goodness for ebay and my friend Jill who sent the little man that goes with it. Whitney told everyone to close their eyes every time she opened a present and would repeat, "don't look, close your eyes" over and over. Christmas morning was so awesome, I wish I could bottle that kind of wonder and excitement.

Matt finished his year of adding a push-up per day...365 today!!! He had transformed his body and been very commited. He is trying to figure out what he'll do tomorrow, maybe add some sit ups? The best story is how he was bet $20 at a wedding this summer that he couldn't do 40 push-ups, well of course he could, cha ching.

Ehmann family photos 11/5/10

update

Nathan: Loving Preschool Partners, he only goes 2 afternoons per week but it's pretty intense and he is learning so much. He is reading more than I thought a preschooler could and Mrs Sailor says he is the one raising his hand with the answer most of the time. Matt and I are very impressed with the teaching philosophies and are leaning toward sending our kiddos to the Classical Academy. We will finalize our decision soon. Nato is still enjoying Kid's Music Playground. He is thriving, can play many songs on piano (using both hands) and his knowledge surpasses mine easily. Matt takes him so I'm usually lost, maybe I will take Whitney when she is old enough.

Whitney: Moments of terrible two's show up daily but at the same time, I love this age. She is learning her letters and loves visiting Nathan's school, always a big hug for his teachers. She will definitely be ready for preschool next fall. Whitney takes ballet while Nathan is at music class. She absolutely loves going and loves her teacher, Miss Tina. She is such a good listener and tries so hard, I am so proud of her. She was awarded 'dancer of the month' for November, very special. She got out of diapers at exactly 2&1/2 but this month, we've been dealing with more #2 accidents than I would like to. This too shall pass. She is not my picky one, eating spicy foods and always wanting some of what daddy has. She loves hummus which cracks me up, but it's fabulous.

I'm on Moms at Twilight ministry team this year so us 3 head to the church every Wed night. Nathan is in choir and Whitney always looks forward to playing in the toddler room. It means a late night but well worth it. Mom still watches the kids on Thursday afternoons while I work and Jessica helps out every other Tuesday. We've had a lot of different people babysitting on the other Tuesdays, but the kids never mind, I guess they are used to it by now. We need to figure out something new when Jess has her baby in March. Need to start thinking about how it all looks next fall too. It's been kind of strange talking about kindergarten next year, I can't believe they are growing so fast!!!!

Updates

Some of my favorite pictures from the last month. Summer is going fast, we've been really busy. Nathan completed 4 weeks of swimming lessons, he's becoming a little fish. He is diving down to retrieve things from the bottom of the pool, better than mommy already. He is also on a t-ball/coach pitch team at the Y. He is not yet passionate about baseball (passion is still trains) but he does enjoy it and is doing well. He is also loving riding his bike, still training wheels, but can go all over. I was so proud of him the other night at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. Though a cautious little boy, he did the prelim round of 'Mutton Bustin'. He was trampled but didn't cry and is up for a re-ride. Not sure if he was actually on the sheep as it left the gate; he had a tear in his jeans so maybe he got hung up on the gate. The video is terrible because I forgot about the camera to see with my own eyes if he was okay, but here it is.

Whitney loves being outside. She enjoys riding on the seat that sits on the handle bars of my bike. She thinks swimming is a lot of fun and loves flailing around the kiddie pool and jumping to us in the big pool; even off the diving board as she is pretty fearless. Sad to report that we are still potty training. She has the potty mastered but the other is yet to happen very often. As of right now, I'm pretty sure one of her passions is singing. I asked her if she was going to be a singer like Grandma and she sung back her response 'I'm gonna be a singer like Grandma'. She still blows us away with her advanced vocabulary. She is starting to give up nap time a couple times per week. Not in a big girl bed but loves to sleep in Nathan's bed, maybe she'll get her own soon.

Whitney's comment in front of church

Today during children's sermon, Matt Holtzman was leading into the sermon and asked the kids for examples of two things that work together, rephrased a few times, such as two things that come together to create a better thing. Several kids had clever responses such as a battery/flashlight, TV/Remote, and Nathan's comment of two workers/building a building. Matt went on and I noticed Nathan raising Whitney's hand to be goofy. Matt noticed and said, 'Whitney did you have something?". She was put on the spot and the first thing out of her mouth was "BABIES". The audience exploded. It was pretty hilarious, I just hope people realized that baby dolls are her favorite thing and not that we are teaching our two year old the birds and the bees. :)

Nathan can't be 5 already, can he?

With Great Grandpa on the 4th!

Nathan's favorite day of the year is finally upon us. He had a fun birthday. We went out to Kiowa for the 4th of July and spent a while at the Elbert County Museum's BBQ and then mom cooked a nice dinner to celebrate Nathan's birthday early. It was a rainy 4th so fireworks weren't ideal but we had a fun day.

Nathan's birthday was a Wednesday this year, we were going to have a pool party but a chillier day led to us bringing to the house. Lego theme this year so I made a Lego cake and his friends all put together Lego cars to take home. We had a nice lunch and they all had a blast playing inside and out. T-ball was canceled that night so we took his baseball cupcakes to Matt's work instead. He had a special day and was just glowing all day with excitement. He is so proud to be 5! I'm glad we are waiting until 6 to start Kindergarten or this whole thing might be a bit emotional.